If This Is a Man

Summary

«If This Is a Man» is a memoir by Primo Levi, detailing his experiences as a prisoner in the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II. The book offers a profound reflection on the nature of humanity, ethics, and the human capacity to survive under the most horrific conditions. Levi recounts his arrest as a member of the Italian Resistance, his deportation to Auschwitz in 1944, and his subsequent eleven-month imprisonment until liberation by the U.S. Army. The author poses questions about what it means to be human when human dignity is constantly tested, and examines how cruelty and humiliation affect the human essence. The book explores issues of morality, individual and collective responsibility, guilt and shame, as well as the human ability to resist and maintain one's humanity in the face of utter despair.